Chase Elliott dethroned Denny Hamlin after a dominant performance Sunday at Martinsville, collecting his first victory of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.
Elliott utilized a magnificent strategy called by crew chief Alan Gustafson, plus some good timing on a caution, to get into the lead, and managed to hold it during the final run of the event. It’s the first win of the season for Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports.
Hamlin, who led a race-high 292 laps, finished second, with Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, and William Byron rounding out the top-five. Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, and Josh Berry rounded out the top-10.
The NASCAR Cup Series will take a week off before heading to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500.
Photo: Kendall Wood, TobyChristie.com
RACE RESULTS:
| Fin | St | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Diff | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports UniFirst Chevrolet | 400 | Running | |
| 2 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing Bob's Discount Furniture Toyota | 400 | 0.565 | Running |
| 3 | 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske Shell-Pennzoil Ford | 400 | 2.073 | Running |
| 4 | 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing Monster Energy Toyota | 400 | 3.163 | Running |
| 5 | 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports CINCINNATI, Inc. Chevrolet | 400 | 3.704 | Running |
| 6 | 12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske Advance Auto Parts Ford | 400 | 4.230 | Running |
| 7 | 11 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing DEWALT Toyota | 400 | 7.237 | Running |
| 8 | 6 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske Menards / Richmond Ford | 400 | 9.049 | Running |
| 9 | 13 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 400 | 9.056 | Running |
| 10 | 3 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing DEX Ford | 400 | 10.174 | Running |
| 11 | 5 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing SuperFile Chevrolet | 400 | 12.280 | Running |
| 12 | 17 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing Body Guard Ford | 400 | 12.537 | Running |
| 13 | 23 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 400 | 12.722 | Running |
| 14 | 27 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 400 | 16.446 | Running |
| 15 | 8 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing SiriusXM Toyota | 400 | 18.206 | Running |
| 16 | 18 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing SafetyCulture Chevrolet | 400 | 20.339 | Running |
| 17 | 7 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports Chili's Ride The Dente Chevrolet | 400 | 20.866 | Running |
| 18 | 20 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports Delaware Life Chevrolet | 400 | 21.117 | Running |
| 19 | 16 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing Kroger / Thomas' High Protein Ford | 399 | 1 lap | Running |
| 20 | 22 | 7 | Daniel Suarez | Spire Motorsports Group 1001 Chevrolet | 399 | 1 lap | Running |
| 21 | 19 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Dollar Tree Toyota | 399 | 1 lap | Running |
| 22 | 21 | 48 | Justin Allgaier | Hendrick Motorsports Ally Financial Chevrolet | 398 | 2 laps | Running |
| 23 | 29 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports Dairi-O / Cheeny Bros, Inc. Ford | 398 | 2 laps | Running |
| 24 | 34 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing FICO Chevrolet | 398 | 2 laps | Running |
| 25 | 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing Dow Coatings Chevrolet | 398 | 2 laps | Running |
| 26 | 25 | 88 | Connor Zilisch | Trackhouse Racing Choice Privileges Chevrolet | 397 | 3 laps | Running |
| 27 | 28 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet | 397 | 3 laps | Running |
| 28 | 31 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports FUEL by Franzia Ford | 397 | 3 laps | Running |
| 29 | 32 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Dollar Tree Toyota | 397 | 3 laps | Running |
| 30 | 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | HYAK Motorsports Jack Links Non-Vegan Chevrolet | 397 | 3 laps | Running |
| 31 | 24 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team HaasTooling.com Chevrolet | 396 | 4 laps | Running |
| 32 | 35 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing Super.com Chevrolet | 394 | 6 laps | Running |
| 33 | 37 | 33 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing United Rentals Chevrolet | 394 | 6 laps | Running |
| 34 | 14 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports Long John Silver's Ford | 371 | 29 laps | Running |
| 35 | 26 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing Monster Energy Toyota | 323 | 77 laps | Accident |
| 36 | 15 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing Hardee's Toyota | 322 | 78 laps | Accident |
| 37 | 36 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing Black's Tire Chevrolet | 298 | 102 laps | Mechanical |
